Guinness to become first global beer brand to give drinkers alcohol and nutritional information

President Barack Obama And First Lady Michelle Obama Enjoy A Pint Of Guinness At Hayes Bar In His Ancestral Home Moneygall, Co Offaly During President Obama'S Visit To Ireland. (Image: Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)

Ireland's most famous alcoholic export Guinness is set to introduce a pioneering new measure that will see its 500ml cans labelled with nutritional information and alcohol content.

The Dublin-based drinks giant is to provide the information in order to help consumers understand exactly what they're drinking in each can.

The nutritional information will include an outline of calories, carbohydrates, protein, and sugar, as well as grams of alcohol in each serving.

The move will make Guinness the first global beer brand to provide consumers with this information, in what is set to be an expansion of a consumer-led initiative that was tested last year on Smithwicks.

The 500ml Guinness can labels will also contain warnings on drink driving and consuming alcohol during pregnancy.

(Image: Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

Speaking about the move, Diageo Ireland Country Director Mr. Oliver Loomes said: “Irish consumers want to make informed choices and increasingly they want to know what’s in their glass.

"At Diageo, we take enormous pride in our ability to listen to our consumers and bring them the great products they enjoy with the clear, concise and accurate information they can use to make the right choice for them."

According to Drinkaware, low-risk alcohol guidelines for Irish men are 170g of pure alcohol - or ten 500ml cans of Guinness - spread out over a week, with at least two alcohol-free days.

For women, the amount is 110g of pure alcohol - or roughly six and a half 500ml cans of Guinness - spread out over the week, with at least two alcohol free days.